As the country prepares to go to the polls in a few weeks’ time we have been hearing from politicians right across the political spectrum about their priorities. I am interested to see how each party plans to tackle the big issues currently facing public services and children and their families, including the crisis in local government funding and the huge challenges in children’s mental health.

Earlier this year, ADCS published a new policy paper, Childhood Matters which provides a perfect overview for the incoming government of the challenges facing children and the public services that support them. The paper calls for a national plan and vision for childhood, accompanied by a long term, sustainable funding settlement. The paper also puts forward tangible solutions for change aimed at each government department with a stake in child and family policy. We look forward to central government taking a holistic view of childhood and family life, just as our services do.

Children do not vote and, sadly, they are unlikely to feature prominently in political manifestos. During election campaigns their experiences are often overlooked and their voices often go unheard. This is despite so much depending on them, including this country’s future place on the global stage and our economic prosperity.

There are many urgent issues for the incoming government to address.  Tackling child poverty must be a priority for whoever forms the next government. 1 in 3 children in England are living in poverty today. It means cold homes, overcrowding, hunger and stress which can lead to family breakdown. It means charities stepping in to fill the gaps left by the state and schools feeding pupils and their families over the summer. Poverty affects everything from the health of the nation to children’s ability to learn and participate in society.

Committing to an equitable long-term funding settlement for children’s services is also important. More than a decade of austerity has led to counterintuitive decisions being forced on local authorities across the country and the prioritisation of statutory services over services that address problems early and tackle the root causes of the issues children and families face. Stable homes built on love rightly includes a focus on strengthening early help services, or ‘family help’; this is a welcome shift in approach. The next government must commit to investing the £2.6bn over four years called for in the care review alongside a long term sustainable funding settlement for children’s services.

I also want to see a long-term plan to help children and young people recover from the pandemic which is far from over in terms of its impact on young people’s wellbeing and bold action to address shameful levels of profiteering from some of the largest providers of children’s placements.

Every childhood matters and so it follows how we invest in children from the early years through to adulthood matters too. Surely this is something all politicians can get behind?

Rachael Wardell  ADCS Vice President 2024/25

This column first appeared in the LGC in June 2024.